Dikgacoi hoping to be fit to face Southampton

Crystal Palace midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi is hopeful of featuring against Southampton despite withdrawing from international duty this week.

Published

5 March 2014

Dikgacoi declared himself unavailable for South Africa's glamour midweek friendly against Brazil in Johannesburg due to a back problem.

However, he has not ruled out being able to play for his club when Southampton visit Selhurst Park on Saturday.

"I've been struggling with my back, so I had a chat with the physio and he advised me not to travel so I don't aggravate the injury," Dikgacoi told Palace Player.

"It's best for me to stay behind, get treatment and hopefully be fit for Saturday."

Regardless of whether he is involved, Dikgacoi believes Palace, who sit 16th, can take a big step towards Premier League survival by beating Mauricio Pochettino's team.

"They are a good side and they've got quality players in their team. But we've got home-ground advantage and I believe we're going to get maximum points," added the midfielder.

"I've never seen the Premier League this tight, especially at this time of the season. We still have got a long way to go, but we just have to go out there and enjoy our football, get points and help the team to not go down.